GM3c Marvin Otto Becker

Brothers Marvin Otto Becker and Wesley Paulson Becker died on the U.S.S. Arizona when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. A third brother, Harvey Becker, had shore leave that day and survived.

The brothers were born in Kansas to William Becker, a farmer, and Freda Paulsen Becker, a homemaker and German immigrant. They had four other children.

The oldest of the three brothers at Pearl Harbor was the survivor, Harvey, born Sept. 29, 1916, in Union township. He graduated from La Crosse High School in 1935 and was a farm laborer until he enlisted in July 1938. Harvey was a gunner’s mate and petty officer second class at the time of the attack. He was with his wife, Marie, a nurse, in Honolulu that morning.

The second brother to enlist, Marvin Otto, was born Oct. 19, 1918 at Nekoma. He graduated from nearby Rozel High School, then enlisted in December 1939 and followed in the footsteps of Harvey to become a gunner’s mate at the initial position as a petty officer third class.

The third brother, Wesley Paulson, was born Aug. 20, 1922 at Nekoma. His Naval application says he completed four years of high school but does not name it. A local news account said it was Rozel High. He enlisted in January 1941 and was a seaman first class when he was killed.

The family back in Kansas did not know the fate of their sons and brothers until two days after the attack, when Harvey was able to call to say he had searched hospitals and barracks but was unable to find Marvin or Wesley. The Navy officially declared them missing just before Christmas.

The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars organized a public memorial service for the fallen brothers at the La Crosse City Auditorium in February 1942. The service closed with the audience singing God Bless America.

Harvey made the Navy his career. He died in 1979.

A younger brother, Bob, enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 — over his mother’s opposition. He finished basic training just as the war ended.